Within the Rainbow
by aris-Blue
Summary: "What do you see within the rainbow? Surely not just colors; there's more to it." Short collection of one-shots, mostly focused around popular PJO pairings. The theme is colors! (Rated T just in case- although I'm probably overreacting.)
1. Chapter 1: Red

Sometimes red is the color of blood, the color of hurt. The color of the sky, as you realize whether or not you die is completely in the hands of someone else. Red, the color of anguish, pain, and regret.

But, there is a reason that red is the color for Christmas.

Red can represent worry and death, but red can also represent good cheer. Paired with the green of pine trees, the sight of the two colors can gift a pleasant feeling to anyone looking at it. Red is the color of action and energy. Red is for roses, red is for passion.

Red is the motive, the goal. Red can remind you of what you're fighting for.

And in this case, you're fighting for all of Western civilization. But sometimes when one has that much of a burden on her shoulders, she can't help but cry. She doesn't know if one day she'll wake up in a pool of her own red, and fade away from existence. She's scared.

Sometimes when her feelings become too much to bear, Annabeth will simply curl up on Percy's bed and cry. She doesn't need to say anything, he understands.

He doesn't like to see her cry. One night, he especially doesn't want to. Percy feels like she needs some red. (No, not _that_ kind of red, you pervert.)

So when he appears by her side again with a bouquet of fresh roses, she stops crying. She sniffs it, the scent of flowers enter her system. Not just flowers, she smells _red_. And it comforts her.

She is reminded of her usual energy and adrenaline. She is reminded of the passion her friends and family have for her. She knows again that _this_ is the motive. Annabeth will be stressed, she will be tired. But after everything is done and gone, it will be worth it. She's certain.

Percy smiles at her. She takes the roses, she takes in the feeling of red. It's a surprise what the color can do to help her emotional state. Red is the savior.

And for the first time in months, as she looks at the roses, she smiles.


	2. Chapter 2: Orange

Orange is the color of joy, sociality, adventure. The color itself gives a surge of mind to those who are looking at it. Orange is inspiration, inspiration to go out and experience things you may not be able to later. Orange wants you to live in the moment. And that's what a certain son of Hephaestus needed.

Leo simply needed to live like a normal person. He was too caught up in his fairings. Work, work, and more work. What for? The answer was the war, of course. The war had engulfed every bit of his daily life, and he just needed _a break_.

So when he woke up one day inside his half-finished battleship project, he couldn't stand it anymore. This was the fourth time that week he fell asleep while working. Four out of seven days. That was.. Leo didn't even want to calculate the percentage today. So he decided to get away from all this, and he went to the place farthest from camp— the beach.

He sat down in the soft sand and wiggles his toes into the cool tide. He thought about his life, this constant horror he had to endure. And unlike his friends, he had no one to endure it with, no one to fight for. So why did he keep it up?

"What for?" Leo blinked, and cracked a smile. His thoughts, combined with his ADHD, had led him to speaking aloud again.

"Are you depressed?" He turned, surprised by the sudden voice, not his own. It was a girl, who looked about eight or nine years old. She had big brown eyes and blonde hair. She stared at him, not unkindly.

Leo sighed. "Not exactly. I'm just kind of...down. Who are you?"

"I'm new here. So why are you down?" The girl sat down next to Leo. She didn't tell him her name, and he didn't ask. He liked the company.

"Stressed. Preparing for the war, of course."

"Do you want some encouragement?" Leo blinked at her, surprised, as she handed him a small candy with an orange wrapper. She smiled widely.

"It's a caramel," she said quietly, "Before she left, my mom used to give me these when I was sad. She said something sweet helps inspire you to go solve your problems, rather than sit and mope."

Man, this girl was something. Leo smiled and took the candy. "Thank you." He unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth. The somewhat tangy taste was odd his tongue, and he realized how long he hasn't treated himself to something sweet. He opened his palm and stared at the orange wrapper, absorbing the color into his eyes. The color itself made new thoughts enter his mind.

Leo didn't have to do this. Sure, there was a war, but he wasn't gonna kill himself preparing for it. He didn't have to do this. Seeing the orange inspiration helped him realize that. Leo turned to the girl to thank her, but to his surprise, she was gone. There wasn't even a trace on the sand where she sat before. Shaking his head and smiling, he crumpled the orange wrapper into his fist, and got up. He started to run.

He ran and ran, until he reached the porch of the Big House, where Chiron was. Chiron looked up from his book, seeming surprised. "What brings you here, my boy?"

Leo panted, catching his breath. He could feel the orange wrapper in his palm, he could almost see the color before his eyes still. He looked up and grinned.

"Call a cab for me, I'm going on vacation."


	3. Chapter 3: Yellow

When one makes a mistake they will regret all their life, one can't simply keel over and die. Yellow is there to bring a flash of understanding to your mind. Yellow is thinking and intelligence. The foolish one must see yellow, they must see understanding and thought.

Thalia was a foolish one. She thought she had him. She thought he would return her love. But that was proven untrue. Several times. The first few, Thalia refused to believe it. She was so stupid. She was _so stupid_.

And she almost ruined herself over it. She kept up hope that Luke was unwilling to serve Kronos. She believed it, until that night. That night she knew she was wrong, how wrong she always really was.

She was in the woods, leading the Hunters as second-in-command, like she always had. They had come across a beach. Thalia decided to let the Hunters rest here for a while. She needed a walk. Thalia headed back into the forest.

As she got farther and farther away from her fellow Hunters and deeper and deeper into the maze of trees, she thought about how big her chances were that Luke would leave Kronos, and finally figure out what's best for him. _He will come back. I'm sure._

She stopped. There were footsteps behind her. Thalia's mind started whirling. Was it Phoebe, telling her it was time to leave? It couldn't have been that long.

She heard a low growl. "Good to see you again, Thalia." A snicker followed.

She whipped her head around, and promptly gasped. Her eyes were met with the same blonde hair and facial features she'd been waiting for, but for some reason she was scared. "Luke—!"

Before she finished, Luke malignantly knocked her onto the ground and stood over her. She didn't try to fight back. "A hunter, eh? Well, my dear, now you're the _hunted_." Thalia drew in a sharp breath at his mocking tone.

"What do you want, _Kronos_?" Thalia hissed, but she was shuddering. _This isn't Luke. This couldn't be._

"Oh no no, Thalia dear. Kronos is with me, but I am Luke. I will always be." A smirk. Thalia tried to get up off the ground, but the sole of his foot hit her in the face. A wave of pain smashed into her system, though it was the last thing on her mind.

"No.. you can't..." Thalia felt consciousness slipping from her. She struggled to keep her eyes open, enough to see Luke, not Kronos, bend down over her until she could faintly feel his breath on her face. He was smirking still. Thalia looked into his eyes, no longer blue, but golden. Golden yellow.

 _He's changed. He's willingly doing this. Luke, not Kronos._

The realization hit her like lightning. He was never going to come back. Luke wasn't Luke anymore. He wasn't the boy who she loved anymore. And he wasn't ever going to be again.

Before she closed her eyes, she saw that nasty grin on his face, and the flash of yellow from his eyes. Suddenly, his face disappeared from before her, and she heard yelling voices. _Phoebe and the Hunters._

She didn't analyze what she saw. She drifted into unconsciousness, until the only visible image before her were Luke's eyes shining yellow in a sea of entire blackness.

He was Luke, but he wasn't the Luke she knew before. She had to accept that, and once she did, it somehow set a scary calm over her emotions. She no longer had to deal with the nagging voice at the back of her head, telling her that Luke would come back one day.

Because he wouldn't. And her heart and mind could finally rest.


End file.
